North Sea Empire
The North Sea Empire was a Schism State that existed during the Schism era. It was situated on the North-Western tip of Panguilla, and was notoriously poor, cold and mismanaged. Early History The earliest plans for the Northern states dictated that the North-eastern part of the NSE would be a part of some form of "Zeor Republic," and the rest would become a province of Roldroff. When Roldorf declared independence, it did not tolerate the sentiments of the areas north of it, and sent troops to secure Zannenburg, the capital of the region. However, this initially bloodless invasion soon descended into chaos as various unaligned factions rose up in civil war. One of these factions was the House of Arz, a noble family who sought to claim the region as their own kingdom. The Head of the Family was the 38 year old Baron Zagoroza, who engaged Roldroff forces at the Battle of Estin Marsh. During the battle, a young colonel named Felix von Staunn personally led a daring encirclement that resulted the destruction of the Roldroff 1st Corps, and their subsequent withdrawal from the region. For his bravery and talent, von Staunn was made General-Intendant of the Arz Military by Zagoroza. Now in control of the most powerful military force and with a solid noble claim to the region, the House of Arz quickly became the undisputed leaders of the Arz Regency Kingdom, as it was called. Baron Zagoroza began preparing for his coronation in three months time. He was extremely popular for the duration of his rule. In order to destroy the colonial racial hierarchy which had also discriminated against him because of his mixed Zeor blood, Baron Arz forbade ethnic southerners from marrying other southerners, thus forcing the elite to choose spouses from among the local population. He sealed the Kingdom's borders to the outside world and personally interviewed anyone who attempted to leave the country. Foreigners who managed to enter had to remain there in virtual arrest for many years. Night of the Grand Fire A month later, the Baron was travelling through the city of Oberport, when a barrel of sparkpower in a nearby warehouse exploded, setting off a chain reaction of flames and chaos. The city was practically destroyed, and its soon-to-be king with it. Von Staunn, as commander of the army, declared a state of siege and announced that a "Kymurianist coup" had been attempted, despite no other incidents taking place that night. He had Baron Zagoroza's mother arrested as a suspect, and released her on the condition that he be allowed to marry her daughter, Katerina Arz, the sucessor to the throne. A month later, the couple married, and were proclaimed Emperor and Empress of the North Sea Empire. Von Staunn had removed all trace of the Arz family from the state decor and name. "The Staunnship" As Emperor, and at the head of the small but highly professional army, Staunn ruled as an absolute dictator during a period referred to as the "Staunnship" due to his personal style of ruling. Two years after the Night of the Grand Fire, a nephew of Baron Arz's came forward with a document that detailed a plan, apparently by Staunn, to assassinate the Baron and become King. Staunn had the man arrested, and subsequently the entire Arz family executed or exiled. His wife, Katerina Arz, was treated as a political prisoner by the NSE Court. While maintaining a strong political and economic grip on the country, and despite all his shortcomings, Staunn worked towards strengthening The North Sea Empire's independence. Although Staunn's government was similar to Arz's system, his appearance, style, and policies were different. Arz had pictured himself as the first citizen of a new royal but revolutionary state, whereas Staunn used the all-powerful state to enrich himself and his family. In contrast to the lean Arz, Staunn was obese (a "great tidal wave of human flesh", according to one witness). Staunn was a despot who wanted to found a dynasty and ran The North Sea Empire like a personal fiefdom. Staunn soon became the largest landowner and cattle rancher in the country, amassing a fortune, which he augmented with profits from the state's monopoly on the Sparkpowder trade. Despite his greed, The North Sea Empire prospered under Barik Exitinita (the Most Excellent One in Zeor Dialekt), as Staunn was known. Under Staunn, The North Sea Empire's population increased from about 220,000 in 998KF to about 400,000 in 1030KF. During his term of office, Staunn improved national defense, abolished the remnants of the Toegar System, stimulated economic development, and tried to strengthen relations with foreign countries. The North Sea Empire made large strides in education. When Staunn took office, Zannenburg had only one primary school. During Staunn's reign, more than 400 schools were built for 25,000 primary students, and the state re-instituted secondary education. Staunn loosened restrictions on foreign relations, boosted exports, invited foreign physicians, engineers, and investors to settle in The North Sea Empire, and paid for students to study abroad. Several highways and a telegraph linking Zennenburg with Oberport were built. A Mollburg-based firm began building a railroad from Zennenburg to Dannenholm, one of the North's first. Foreign experts helped build an iron factory and a large armoury. Yet despite his apparent liberalism, Staunn was a dictator who allowed The North Sea Empire Citizens no more freedom to oppose the government than they had had under Arz. The Court became his puppet, and the people abdicated their political rights, a situation enshrined in the 1005KF Constitution, which placed all power in Staunn's hands. Creation of the Zeorin Empire In 1029KF, a prominent anti-Staunn faction emerged in the form of the Zeor Unionist Party, a movement lead by Zeor Nationalists who sought to unify with Serenos Grimm's new regime across the border, its ranks were filled with Zeors, liberals, Arz supporters and even some remnants of the Arz family. For the first time, the army began to dissent, but the Staunnship was too powerful to break. In a gamble, Grimm invaded the Empire, but Staunn had negotiated an alliance with the Prince of Roldroff, Pantindan Edgaston, who sought to curtail the spread of the Zeor people as a power. However, their forces were destroyed by Grimm and Staunn fled to Mollburg, then later to Copa.